Resident Evil: A Winter's Tale
by Eric VanDerBoom
Summary: Leon spends his Christmas in Switzerland, sad that he's lost Rebecca...but then, fate gives him a second chance...  Thanks again to Brian1 for the inspiration! There must be more L/R fics! :P Lyrics from A Winter's Tale  C  1995, 2011 Queen Music


_**Leon Kennedy/Rebecca Chambers: **_

_**A Winter's Tale**_

The gentle snow floated down from the fiery orange sunset to the now pale-white ground that lay below it. As it fell, the only one that could be seen out was a young man, barely in his 30's, sitting out on a bench near his Montreux home. He had come here to spend his Christmas season for the year, because to him, there wasn't a more beautiful place to be during the holidays.

But right now, on the very day before Christmas Eve, he was found alone, clad in his bomber jacket, blue jeans, and 5.11 long-sleeved shirt, sitting on the bench by himself. Absentmindedly, his gaze floated to the swans bobbing and floating on the beautiful lake water, and to the seagulls flying overhead.

But his thoughts did not follow his gaze. He needed some time to think other things over. 10 years ago, he would've never thought that he would end up in this, the most beautiful of all places in the world, after what he had endured. He'd suffered through an earthen piece of the devil's home, battling his way through the undead and monstrous demons that had lain throughout. Even the brief replay that occurred seven years after that very incident left him reeling, even thought he should've been accustomed to the situation by that point.

But even through the hell that he'd experienced by then, not even Leon Kennedy had suffered alone.

_Dreaming…so quiet and peaceful…_

His mind still drifted to the beautiful young woman that he reached the exit gates of the hell-on-earth with…her sparkling hazel eyes, her light and flowing short brown hair, her very determination that did well to mask the fright that she had experienced with him. And when she told him the very secret he'd been aching to tell her himself even before that little piece of torture, his heart suddenly felt whole, better than it had in a long time.

But now, the last time he saw her was right after the replay of the agony that tortured him back in 1998. The magic between them no longer seemed to be there, he thought. And now, now that he was here in what he thought of as the angel of earth, he couldn't help but think of her…Rebecca…

Leon now began to regret what he'd said before he came here, the memories of her agonizing his very heart and soul, creeping into his dreams, wanting him to put forth what he'd said to her all those years ago…

_Dreaming…tranquil and blissful…_

The tears began to flow freely from his eyes like cascading waterfalls, the emotional rain falling to join the show, forming freckles that took away the paleness from the white and made it grey. Why couldn't she be here with him now? Why did he have to not feel how he should have toward her? These questions, along with so much more about the two, went through his mind, as more teardrops leaked from Leon's eyes. Finally, he closed his eyes and prayed… it seemed like the only thing he could do now; just pray and hope…hope for a miracle, a second chance.

But just as he had finished his message to God and reopened his saddened, wet eyes, they caught the sight of what looked like loose, olive-green pant legs, and white shoes covering the feet that ended the feminine-looking appendages. Leon's gaze slowly traveled upward, taking in the olive-green turtleneck sweatshirt and the clear, slick jacket that did almost nothing for elemental protection, yet blended perfectly with the snow that still descended on them.

Then he saw…_her face._

It hadn't aged much in the last days that he'd seen her. It almost looked the exact same as when he'd first laid his eyes on her. The differences were that her face had gotten slightly thinner, and the brown hair had grown out down to the middle of her neck area. The hazel eyes, although they had shed many tears and seen many hellish nightmares, still had that same sparkle.

Just as these thoughts drifted through the young man's mind, he finally made the energy to stand up, a lump growing in his throat. It seemed almost too good to be true, as if…his problems might now be solved. Leon took the impulse to swallow heavily and ask "…Rebecca?"

_Dreaming…there's a kind of magic in the air…._

"Hi, Leon…" The young woman, only three years his junior, looked down at Leon's black snow-covered shoes, and he could see the sparkle from her eyes drop down to the ground like so many lead weights. Then he realized…she was crying too. Was she feeling the same way he was feeling: anguished, apologetic, burdened, weighted down with now-unrequited love? Not even Leon could tell at this point.

Not knowing exactly what he was doing right then and there, he unzipped his bomber jacket and leaned in toward Rebecca, enveloping her in his arms, the bomber jacket slightly draping over her form, his face buried into her silky auburn hair. Right now, he didn't want to know if she hated him now. He didn't care. All he cared about was not wasting this…his second chance with the angel that had haunted his dreams for so long…yet the one he never felt whole without.

Then, as he had felt for so long in even his most evocative dreams, hoping it could be true once again, her arms coiled underneath the dark leather of his jacket and around his cotton-clad back. There was even what seemed like the littlest things to most people: her face burrowing into the collar of the clothing article, the tears from her shining eyes flowing out onto it. And he could now smell her…a sweet, rosy smell, blending perfectly with the pure aroma of the crystal-clear lake and the gleaming white snow.

He inched away from her huddled form, just enough so that there was a mere few inches of space between them, their arms still holding tightly onto each other. Rebecca finally struck up the nerve to look up into Leon's face, beholding his saddened blue eyes, his ruggedly handsome face, and the hopeful smile that enveloped the lower half of his face. As much as she enjoyed seeing him again, she couldn't help but resent how their love had seemingly decayed over the last few years. That resentment struck her with the impulse to look down again. The words that forced themselves out of his mouth rang through her mind once again, stealing her away from the present situation she was now in. And thus, she could hardly believe it when he finally said a few of the words she'd been so longing to hear… "Rebecca…I'm sorry…"

_Dreaming…gentle rain beating on my face…_

She looked back up into his burdened face to see that just as she returned his gaze, he looked back down at his own shoes. This wasn't much of an adjustment; she was still shorter than he was by about a foot. But even so, she found herself smiling as she finally took the words in. Leon Kennedy had meant them right from the start. That was one thing she'd discovered about him…whenever he had something this emotional to say, all the cards were laid on the table, nothing to hide or conceal. This was one of the many qualities that she'd loved about him….and now still did.

Slowly and softly, she put one slender, warm hand on his shoulder, feeling the smooth coarseness of the leather that his jacket was comprised of. She could see his once teary eyes snap open with surprise as he looked at the hand that lightly rubbed her shoulder, and in response, he slowly moved one of his hands up and down her upper back, comforting her as she soothed him at the same time.

Then, in a show of slight mischievousness that made her smirk for the first time in a long time, she trailed the hand that was on his shoulder up his neck and smoothly slid it off the bottom of his chin. Now she could get a good look at those pure blue eyes, eyes that did everyone good no harm; that showed determination even at the most difficult tasks…yet the gaze that came from his eyes was especially soft, the tears now having stopped. Slower and smoother than she'd done before, Rebecca lifted her other hand back up to Leon's face, brushing the comma of hair that covered his right eye away, and keeping her hand positioned on the back of his neck. At this, his face took on a pleasantly shocked expression as Rebecca's gaze penetrated through to the very depths of his heart.

Without waiting for a response from the young woman, the man leaned forward and closed the distance between them, their lips pushing against each others' with every bit of strength they had, their arms wrapping around each other, holding them as if it were their last night on earth…as if they'd never let go…

_Dreaming…what an extraordinary place…_

_And the dreams of the world…in the palm of your hand…_

…They lingered on the couch at Leon's vacation home, only mere meters from the northernmost shore of the lake, staring into the ever-burning fire, not missing the symbolism of what burned in their hearts, what had been slumbering within for the longest time, and had reignited again.

Rebecca had slipped out of her white jacket and green turtleneck, revealing a long-sleeved shirt that was the exact same color, yet only accentuated her beauty so much more.

He had slipped out of his bomber jacket, and was now cradling the young woman in his arms, his head nuzzled softly against his chest, his arm placed on her back as she held him on the couch they were now lying on. He softly kissed the top of her head, leaving only the slightest indent in her smooth, auburn hair. In response, she looked back up at him, and returned the favor, the smoothness of her lips connecting with his own mouth for only mere, yet blissful, seconds. That was the one thing that seemed to haunt him the most: the softness of her lips on his, the aroma of roses that drifted from her, and the slight flavor of strawberry that he could barely taste from her mouth.

She looked deeply into his eyes once again, and he returned the gaze just as deeply, whispering the next few words she had so wanted to hear again from him…

"I love you, Rebecca."

At these short, heavenly words, she smiled back at him, one happy tear cascading from her eye as she replied, "I love you, Leon." At this she laid her head back down on his chest, feeling his joyful heartbeat drumming in time with hers. It was to the music of their own hearts that they fell asleep to, as outside the window, a monument to another great musician keeping a silent vigil, facing the waters of the lake, one arm raised to the sky in excitement…

_Ooh, it's bliss…_


End file.
